The present invention relates to valves, and more particularly, to a valve release mechanism with improved discharge performance for fire suppression and other high mass flow applications.
High speed and high mass flow valve release mechanisms operate to rapidly open valves for fire suppression and other applications. For fire suppression, high speed valves allow pressurized gas to be released to suppress a fast developing fires or explosions. To achieve rapid valve opening, conventional high speed valves commonly use a large solenoid driven at high current (generally greater than 10 amps). Additionally, several components such as a collet that restrains a poppet must be fabricated to exacting tolerances and placed with precise separations relative to other components to allow for rapid opening of the valve. To achieve such precise separation of components, several critical manual adjustments must be performed during manufacture. Considering the above requirements, conventional high speed valves are expensive to manufacture and can be bulky.